Even so, it’s rarely the first option that people think of when it comes to reaching out to their market through social media.

I know I didn’t.

However, keep in mind that snapchat is no longer just a service for video and photo sharing.

Instead, this social media newcomer has become one of the most effective ways to build and establish relationships with customers. Your customers.

In short, it’s become an effective marketing tool.

Whether you’re a small business or a large one, adding Snapchat to your social media marketing strategy could help to expand your brand.

If your primary demographic is younger, specifically between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four, then Snapchat is generally the place to be.

At least right now! Millenials have a habit of moving from one social platform to another.

Now:

Not only is the app quickly taking over the face of social media, but the users in it are extremely engaged, with over 65% of users regularly uploading new snaps.

And engagement like that is good. Really good.

Of course, if you want to win at Snapchat – like any other marketing strategy today, you’ll need to find a way of using the app that engages your users and drives positive action, without pushing too much promotion.

Let’s get started with some tips to help you make use of the snappiest social media tool around.

The Main Key to Snapchat: Know Your Audience

Before you start taking advantage of the unique creative features that you can access with Snapchat, it’s important to make sure you know your audience.

Snapchat social media marketing isn’t the right way to reach out to everyone. As I said, it is used primarily by younger generations.

Around a third of 18-24 year-olds are using Snapchat, which is why it’s a particularly powerful tool if your business caters specifically to younger customers.

Unfortunately, at the same time, Snapchat may not be worth your time if your clientele doesn’t focus on younger generations.

At least, it’s not a good idea right now because like I said before, things can change quickly.

Snapchat is Different than Other Social Media

The very first thing that you need to know if you want to get the most out of snapchat marketing, is that it’s unlike any other type of networking app around right now.

The main feature that has made it so interesting, is the time-constraint that the app automatically places on any content you choose to share.

What do I mean by that?

Everything issued through Snapchat is temporary!

Remember that:

Unlike twitter and Facebook, where posts can be archived and checked out at a later date, a Snapchat will quickly expire — self-destructing– practically from the first second it’s viewed.

This sense of urgency can be great for marketing, and one of the ways that brands are using the Snapchat marketing concept is to utilize the story feature.

Using stories, it is possible to combine a series of snaps that create longer content and keep the audience looking for more.

The advantage of these stories is that your followers can view them as many times as they like within a period of twenty-four hours.

After that initial viewing period, the story is gone, but it opens up a whole new world of creativity to modern marketing campaigns.

So start getting your creative juices flowing.

Marketing 101: Get Personal

The number one thing to keep in mind when you start using Snapchat for marketing purposes, is that it’s supposed to be fun.

Keep this in mind:

Don’t let the desire to sell overwhelm the entertainment factor in the platform – and let’s face it, that’s pretty easy to do!

And don’t be afraid to show personality to your followers!

Look to combine a personal edge with the unique facilities of Snapchat …take advantage of the “exclusivity” factor.

For example:

• Share promotions – invite your customers to get involved with your brand through promotional marketing schemes. For example, if you’re a company that sells shoes, give a discount to anyone who snaps a picture of themselves wearing a pair from your store!

• Make your customers feel special by sending them quick secret invitations to special events or sales. You could even go as far as to hold a different event entirely for your most valuable customers.

• Give previews of new products – if you’re coming up with a new idea, make sure that your Snapchat followers are the first to know about it. If you own a clothing store, show off the next big fashion feature about to hit the floor, or give customers an opportunity to order the new items before other people can.

• Show off the behind-the-scenes reality of your business through videos and pictures of people working in the office, playing on the production line, and coming up with new ideas. This will help to bring your customers closer to your business and make them feel as though they’re part of the process.

Remember to be Memorable

One of the main features that makes Snapchat so successful and unique today is that it’s a timed form of social media.

Unlike other multimedia messaging platforms, senders can set a time limit for exactly how long the receiver is able to view a video or photo.

This can mean that you flash an image for as little as one second, or as long as ten seconds depending on the kind of impact you want to have.

While this is an exciting and engaging concept for users, it also means that businesses have a short time to really wow their audience and deliver the right message.

To take advantage of your Snapchat platform, make sure that you show off the right content, and make whatever you do as memorable as possible.

For example: here are a couple of ideas:

Send snapchats to announce flash sales that will be happening for a matter of hours, or display last-minute promotional codes.

But remember … don’t just stick to photos either, videos can be a great way to promote yourself when time is limited. Broadview App did a neat post about ways to use Vine.

And the same idea plays with Snapchat as well. Mini videos that tell mini stories.

So let’s say you want someone to really pay attention to something, like an upcoming event: building anticipation with short clipped snaps before the main it can be a great way to spread the word, and even add a viral element to your campaign.

Another example:

If a huge sale is in the wings, start by giving people snaps of the sales signs, then some of your biggest selling objects that are about to go down in price, and so on.

Tease them along.

No matter what, I think you’ll have fun with Snapchat and find it a great way to engage your customers.